Gen 8 G1610T intermittant PSOD

[simiane]

For the last few days I've been getting an intermittant PSOD on my Gen 8 G1610T.
In iLO, the only error visible is: User Initiated NMI Switch

Looking around online I found an advisory from HP stating this was a known issue with older firmwares (I was on 2.10 I think) and that an update to the latest should fix it. I've updated to 2.50 but the problem has only increased in frequency.

I'm running ESXi 5.5.0 and the PSOD error shows:
LINT/NMI (motherboard nonmaskable interrupt), undiagnosed.

Attached is a screenshot of the PSOD. The output shows a VM running at the time of the crash, however I've also tested this with no VMs booted and the sever died after about an hour.

Completely unusable at the moment so any help much appreciated.

[Jimmy Vance]

Please provide more informaton so others might be able to assist.

What firmware level is the system running, System ROM? iLO?

Have you appplied all the OS updates?

What is shown in the Server IML and iLO event logs?

[simiane]

Hi Jimmy,

The issue seems to be the one described here: https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2085921 - My PSOD output matches almost exactly, as you can see from the screenshot in my previous post.
However the firmware upgrade does not resolve.

The system rom is: J06 06/06/2014
Current iLO firmware is: 2.30 Aug 19 2015, though I've also tried 2.50 and was initially on 2.10.
The IML shows: User Initiated NMI Switch
There is nothing related in the iLO event log (it simply shows when I reset the server each time)
I've not updated ESXi. I'm on 5.5.0 build 2068190.

[Jimmy Vance]

The only thing I can offer is to suggest you call HPE support and open a case

[simiane]

Presumably I'm unable to do that without having purchased a support agreement?
The HPE website is so massively convoluted that I've never managed to find out how much a support agreement might cost, or even if one is available for my hardware. Nor can I find contact details for support or, well, basically anything whatsoever since my server is out of warranty.

I'm willing to bet though that were support to be offered, it'd cost well in excess of the price of a new server.
So I guess I'm stuck with server level hardware that apparantly offers unrivaled reliability - but has basically broken in only two years - and is now completely useless.

Two years? I'd have been better off purchasing consumer grade - there's no way HPE's warranty and support terms would be legal in the consumer space.

[simiane]

I've now eliminated the RAM as a problem, and have installed a fresh version of ESXi 6.0 onto a new SD card - in case anyone else is interested in offering any help or insight.

Server still crashing out at least 5-10 times per day.

[simiane]

I've also updated the system ROM firmware, and reapplied thermal paste to the CPU.
The problem persists.

Having now eliminated all software and user servicable hardware I can only assume the problem lies with the motherboard.

Again... two years.

[Jimmy Vance]

Have you tried the HPE provided ESXi image?  http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/servers/solutions.html?compURI=1499005#tab=TAB4

[simiane]

Yes, I'd been running flawlessly for two years on the HPE ESXi v5.5 and have now installed HPE ESXi 6.0 on a new MicroSD.

I've updated the system ROM, the iLO firmware, the ESXi installation, reapplied thermal paste to the CPU & experimented with the RAM sticks in different slots.

I'm at a loss now - however I have indeed confirmed that a support care package costs more than a new server.

Pretty unsatisfied customer over here. I don't want to buy HP again - but the Gen 8 MS is such a delightful machine and I doubt I'd find its equal at the price point. No guarantees that the next one wouldn't end up going the same way though.

[mihaib200]

Hi,

Did you rebooted the iLO after firmware update?

"Reboot is optional after installation. Updates will be effective after reboot. Hardware stability will be maintained without reboot."